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Archive for June, 2010

 

CFSA appoints new Membership Services Coordinator

Monday, June 28th, 2010

 

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Jonathan Dagostino as the CFSA’s new Membership Services Coordinator. Dragostino starts his tenure at CFSA today.

Dagostino, who is fluent in French, English and Italian, has an extensive background in sport and most recently completed a four-year stint with Taekowndo Canada as its National Programs Manager.

“Jonathan brings with him a significant amount of knowledge to the Membership Services Coordinator position,” said Bruce Robinson, CFSA’s Chief Operating Officer.  “I believe Jonathan will quickly learn our operating procedures and will fit well with the Freestyle Skiing culture and family. Our members will experience a very clean transition and limited disruption to the level of service they receive.”

Dagostino will be continuing the work of Catherine Trudeau who held the position for nearly five years. Trudeau was a trusted and valued staff member who provided a very personal level of service to the CFSA membership.  She was well respected by the CFSA clubs, PSOs, parents and athletes. Trudeau is returning to her home province of Quebec to pursue new opportunities.

Dagostino joins the CFSA’s Sport Development Team and will be responsible for registrations, insurance, sanctioning, meeting and clinic planning and will assist with the maintenance of the CFSA website.

The CFSA is the National Sport Organization for Freestyle Skiing in Canada. The CFSA is a leading winter NSO, operating the National Freestyle Ski Team and developing programs to support the growth of Freestyle Skiing in Canada including the CFSA’s newest program CAN Freestyle. For more information on the CFSA and its programs, please visit www.freestyleski.com or contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

 

Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events figure prominently in 2010-2011 World Cup schedule

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

 

Ski Mont Gabriel World Cup, 2010

The Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix at Ski Mont Gabriel on January 15 and 16, 2011 will be the first North American stop on the FIS Freestyle World Cup Mogul and Aerial circuit next season. This will give the boisterous Quebec Freestyle aficionados a chance to see Olympic champion Alex Bilodeau and his teammates in action at home. Fans from the western side of the country will also have a chance to see their high-flying heroes live when the tour stops at Winsport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary for the Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix there on January 28 and 29.

Both events will feature mogul and aerial competitions.

The Calgary stop will be the final event in the lead up to the 2011 FIS Freestyle World Championships in Deer Valley, UT.

Canadian Freestyle Ski Association Peter Judge said, “There is no question that it would be almost impossible to host two Canadian World Cups without the support of Canada Post. And, the benefits of being a host nation are numerous. Not only do we have the chance to take advantage of host quota and forerunner spots for our emerging talent; but our home events give us a chance to develop a whole infrastructure of officials and volunteers.”

In all, there are ten mogul stops on the international tour, including new events in China and the Czech Republic. The seven scheduled aerial events include a first-ever World Cup in Belarus, a hotbed of aerial talent that has produced stars like 2010 crystal-globe winner Anton Kushnir and Olympic silver medallist (Torino) Dmitri Dashinski.

Canada Olympic Park World Cup, 2010

Furthermore, the Italians and the Swiss have both announced plans to begin full-time mogul programs next season.

“New countries and programs contribute to the globalization of Freestyle skiing which is crucial to the ongoing development of our sport,” said Judge.

For more information, please contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events figure prominently in 2010-2011 World Cup schedule

 

The legend and the rising star – CFSA honors its own with annual Canada Post Awards

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

 

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association today announced its 2009-2010 Canada Post Athlete Award recipients.
Jenn Heil, Canada Post Athlete of the Year

These annual awards are presented to athletes based on their performance over the course of the entire competitive season. This year’s Canada Post Athlete of the Year is Jenn Heil; and, Canada Post Rookie of the Year is Mikael Kingsbury.

Heil, who hails from Spruce Grove, Alta and now lives in Montreal, had an incredible 2009-2010 season. She earned a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, eight FIS World Cup podium spots – four of them gold, and finished off the season with an incredible fifth-career FIS Crystal Globe in women’s moguls.

The Canadian team’s most recent mogul sensation, 17-year-old Kingsbury, from Deux Montagnes, Que., also had an impressive year. Not only did he take the 2009-2010 NorAm Grand Prix; but, he was also able to transfer his NorAm success to the world stage where he earned two fourth-place finishes in the last two World Cup events of the season, a remarkable accomplishment for a rookie that didn’t go unnoticed by the FIS who presented him with its Rookie of the Year award.
Mikael Kingsbury, Canada Post Rookie of the Year

CFSA High Performance Program Director David Mirota dubbed this year’s winners “the Legend and the Future Star,” adding that they both possess similar traits that make them winners.

“Heil and Kingsbury share a common passion, diligent work ethic and the intrinsic motivation and drive that is absolutely key to turning good athletes into great ones.” Mirota added that the CFSA selection board chose these athletes, in part, because both of them lead by example with their willingness to go the extra mile in training and in competition.

For more information or to set up an interview with Heil or Kingsbury, please contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

 

Old dogs have new tricks

Friday, June 11th, 2010

 

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is pleased to announce the appointment of new, but not so new, contractors who will be replacing Katherina Kubenk, the CFSA’s Technical Director, during her maternity leave. All of the new appointees have a long history with Canadian freestyle, albeit in different roles.
John Pomeroy

Lucinda Jagger, M.Ed, CSCS, CEP, will be leading the CFSA’s coaching program as the Coaching Development Project Manager. Jagger is coming to the CFSA on part-time secondment from Canadian Sport Centre Pacific and will be the lead manager for the CFSA coaching program. She will be responsible for overseeing the development of the technical skiing modules; the continuing CBET transition of the club coach and competition development — moguls coaching courses; coordinating all NCCP Level 4/5 coaching candidates; and, coordinating delivery the CFSA’s NCCP coaching courses, including Master Learning Facilitator and Learning Facilitator training.

Jagger previously worked with the CFSA as the strength and conditioning coach for the aerial high performance program and on various coaching initiatives.

John Pomeroy will be leading the CFSA’s technical program as the Technical Program Project Manager. Pomeroy returns to a position with which he is very familiar and will be managing the association’s officials and judging programs, development of the air qualification system, coordinating the training and development of scoring personnel and assisting with various domestic level events, including Junior Nationals and the Canada Winter Games.

In addition to the appointments of Jagger and Pomeroy, ex-World Cup aerialist Meredith Gardner has been appointed as interim Sport Development Director. Gardner will continue in her role developing the CAN Freestyle program, but will now have oversight of all CFSA sport development initiatives.

For more information, please contact:

Lucinda Jagger, email:  ljagger@cscpacific.ca

John Pomeroy, email:  johnpomeroy@freestyleski.com

Meredith Gardner, email:  meredithgardner@freestyleski.com

 

Ski Halfpipe on the road to Olympic inclusion

Friday, June 4th, 2010

 

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is excited to report that today the FIS Congress, meeting in Turkey, voted to approve French and US proposals recommending to the International Olympic Committee the inclusion of Ski Halfpipe to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games program.

Canadian Halfpipe Champion Kris Atkinson of Calgary, AB.

This brings the thrilling sport of Ski Halfpipe one crucial step closer to inclusion in the Games. The next step will be for the IOC Program Commission to review the proposal and make a recommendation to the IOC Executive Board.

The final step in achieving inclusion will be a decision by the IOC that is expected in early November 2010.

The CFSA has long supported the inclusion of Ski Halfpipe into the Olympic Games and is prepared to start to develop a long term national program for the sport should it receive the final green light in November.

“We have a number of extremely strong and competitive halfpipe skiers in this country who have repeatedly excelled in competition, both in FIS World Cups and on the pro-circuit. We know that it is a lifelong dream for these athletes to have the opportunity to compete on the world stage at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in 2014. We are working along with our FIS partners to help make this happen,” said CFSA CEO Peter Judge.

For more information, contact CFSA Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyle ski.com.